Prices Predicted to Rise Again in Second Half of Year

Real estate agents and prospective homebuyers in the Greater Toronto Area should expect to see higher prices in the second half of 2018 and into 2019, according to the latest market report from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).

Real estate agents in the GTA reported 7,834 sales in May 2018, a 22.2% decline compared to May 2017. This was true of all home types, though townhouses and condo apartments saw less significant drops than detached and semi-detached houses. But, the number of new listings was also down, experiencing a 26.2% drop compared with last year. This offers evidence that competition to buy a home is still rising, which will be a driver of prices.

“Market conditions are becoming tighter in the Greater Toronto Area, and this will provide support for home prices as we move through the second half of 2018 and into 2019,” says Jason Mercer, the TREB’s director of market analysis. “There are emerging indicators pointing toward increased competition between buyers, which generally leads to stronger price growth. In the City of Toronto, for example, average selling prices were at or above average listing prices for all major home types in May.”

The decline in GTA prices was also less steep than that of declines noted in February, March and April. The average selling price for all GTA home types combined was down by 6.6%, to $805,320. But, on a month-over-month basis, the TREB says that seasonally adjusted May sales were more or less flat compared to April.